Author's notes: Thanks 'Megan' for your review. The reason no one saw what was going on with Sam (like we did for Dean in 'in my time of dying') was because there was nothing. Sam was in a shutdown stage, no outer body thing or anything, just shutdown...that's how close to death he was. Glad to know I have given you the inspiration to read! Awesome. Thanks 'Tuffman' for your review. Glad you find this one of your faves! One of mine too. The flashbacks was an area of concern for me, so I'm glad they turned out well. Bela does have a heart! Surprisingly. Reapers are a major pain in the ass for the Winchesters, but good thing they never seem to get them. Darren is dead, but this is Supernatural afterall...nothing is set in stone. Thanks 'clubby' for your review. I'm glad you think I did a really great job with last chapter, means a lot! Yes, whew, Sam's awake again. It makes me feel very confident when you said you loved how i decribed Dean and his feelings as well as the flashbacks. Missouri is a fun character, she's awesome. And fear not...she'll be back.

This chapter does contain a few spoilers for 'tall tales', 'hell house' and also 'mystery spot'

note, thanks to Tim for letting me use the last line. I wanted to use it in this ep ever since he'd said it once. So thanks!

There is a trailer at the end as usual :P The only thing about this chapter I don't like is that it's number '12' and not '13' lol, cuz that would have been so PERFECT :P Anyways, enjoy!

If you read this, please let me know what you think...along with anything else you'd like to add!

12 Karma

Sanford, Maine

'I can't believe it took us a week to get you out of that stupid hospital' Dean complained as he and Sam got out of the Impala. It was mid-afternoon and about two weeks since their disastrous meetings with the vampires.

'I fractured a rib' Sam reminded him and winced a little since his chest was still a bit sore.

Dean went over to the office at the Camelot Motel. Sam waited by the car and tried to look like he was okay. He had told Dean he was fine in order to get him off his back, but was secretly still in a bit of pain now that he was off the pain medication. Fracturing a rib and then being stabbed only inches beside it…damn painful.

Dean returned with the key to their room and they drove the Impala to a further part of the motel, reading the room numbers as they went slowly.

'No 13' Dean smirked, noticing that as they reached room 214.

'Yeah, some people are too superstitious and refuse to have "13" on any of their motel rooms or apartment doors' Sam said as he followed Dean into the room and lay carefully on a bed.

Dean raised an eyebrow and knew Sam was in more pain than he was letting on but ignored it since Sam just kept saying he was fine.

'So ah, think we can find a case here?' Dean wondered.

'Let's find out' Sam sighed, sitting back up cautiously. He grabbed his laptop and started doing searches for local deaths in the area while Dean went for a shower.

After ordering some pizza, Dean got out a police radio and listened to it while Sam continued to real articles. It had been over two weeks since they'd had a case and Dean was getting very bored, very quickly. By 8:30 though, he couldn't take it anymore.

'Come on' he said to Sam and grabbed a jacket.

'Huh? You got something?' Sam put his laptop away and grabbed a jacket as well.

'Nope, but I know another way we can find a case' Dean smirked.

'I'm not going to like this…am I?' Sam sighed in defeat.

'You're kidding?' Sam rolled his eyes as they parked outside the local bar that was only a few minutes from the café in town. 'The Hippy Jingle's Bar? What kind of ridiculous name is that?'

'Who cares?' Dean asked and went inside, giving Sam no choice but to follow.

'Dean…'

'Relax; you're not going to hit on any chicks, so we won't get arrested this time. And we're just gonna make some friends, okay? Ask about a few town legends…strictly professional' he nodded and then watched a woman as she walked past half-naked and was winking at him.

'Whatever' Sam sighed and spotted two girls nearby chatting to each other and looked interested about something. 'How about them?' Sam asked, giving in to his fate.

'Hm?' Dean moved his gaze from a dancer and over to the group, giving a shrug.

'Whatever makes you all tingly' he joked to Sam, but only got a glare in return.

'Ah hey, I'm Sam' he introduced himself to the girls. 'And this is my brother Dean'

'Hi' Dean grinned.

'We're new around here' Sam shrugged, putting on a smile as well.

'Hey, I'm Chantelle' the blonde girl smiled and then introduced her redhead friend. 'And this is Monica'

'Hey guys' Monica grinned and turned to point to a brunette with shorter hair over near the bar. 'And that's our friend Kirsty' she nodded.

'Nice to meet you' Dean grinned, eyeing them up and down a bit, which made Monica blush a little.

'This town looks rather old styled' Sam said. 'I bet there are some cool town legends around here?'

'Yeah, there is one about this place being an alien hotspot' Chantelle told them. 'But you know? Whatever' she rolled her eyes.

'Yeah' Sam gave a small laugh.

'Aliens' Dean muttered, trying not to snigger.

'There are some legends, but they're just legends' Monica added.

'Yeah, like what?' Sam wondered.

'I heard this one at work' Monica thought for a moment.

'She works at the museum' Chantelle explained.

'So? Anyway, there's this guy that died back in like…the 40's or whatever and now they say he haunts the local church' Monica told them. 'Hardly anyone goes to church anymore because of that'

'I thought it was just a legend?' Dean said.

'Oh yeah, it is' Chantelle nodded. 'We're passing through here too, but this town is so superstitious!' she rolled her eyes.

'There are no cracks on any footpaths' Monica jumped in. 'I can't see any ladders, no one has cats…it's just so weird. Kinda freaky if you ask me'

'Oh sorry!' The brunette Kirsty bumped Sam as she rushed over. 'I gotta go, family business' she said and then rushed off.

'She's a workaholic' Chantelle explained. 'And her dad's sick' she sighed. 'Oh hey, if you guys are interested in the legends, you really should check out the tourist booth down near the museum' she nodded with a smirk. 'It's a bit wacko, but the legends are good' she said and got up. 'Anyway, we gotta go' she smiled and gave Dean a kiss on the cheek.

'Yeah, bye' Monica kissed Sam's cheek.

'Wow, that went better than expected' Dean grinned.

'Yeah' Sam seemed a little surprised as well. 'Think we should check it out?'

Dean shrugged. 'I'm sure we can find more…"legends" here' he smirked as one of the dancers winked at him. 'I'll ah…be back' he went over to her.

Sam rolled his eyes and went to the bar. 'Vodka please' he winced and rubbed his chest a bit.

'Sure thing' the bartender said and got him his drink. 'Tough night?'

'Tough week' Sam corrected and took a big sip. He saw Dean nearby with the dancer and just tuned back to the bartender. 'Another' he asked and swallowed the last of his first drink.

Dean smirked as he scored a phone number of a waitress and then sighed, turning to look for his brother.

'Oh Sammy' he sighed, seeing Sam put another empty glass down, beside another two glasses...also empty.

'You okay?' Dean sighed and sat on the stool beside Sam.

'No' Sam replied.

Dean gave the bartender a sign that he wanted a drink. 'Yeah, I can see that' he looked Sam up and down; he looked like crap.

'Then why ask?' Sam replied, a bit groggy.

'It's my job' Dean shrugged and paid for his drink.

'Screw your job' Sam muttered.

'You're drunk' Dean realized and raised an eyebrow. 'That didn't take long'

'So?' Sam asked, sounding a bit offended. 'It helps'

'With what?' Dean asked and took a sip of his own drink.

'The pain' Sam replied. 'My chest is killing me'

'I knew it' Dean cursed under his breath. 'Come on, we're leaving now' he helped Sam up off his stool and they went outside.

'Someone spiked my drink' Dean gasped, seeing his car.'

'Eh?' Sam looked up but it look like three blurry cars to him. 'The Impala?' he asked and saw it parked under a streetlight, 3 meters from where Dean had left it.

'What happ'ned?' Sam asked, trying to stay standing upright but felt a bit dizzy.

'Who touched my car?' Dean growled and looked around for the soon-to-be dead man…but it was late so they saw no one. 'Come on' he grabbed his brother and shoved him into the passenger side of the car.

Sam groaned with the sudden movement but saw a man over under another streetlight. 'Dean!' He screamed out, making Dean hit his head as he got into the car.

'What?!' Dean snapped at him.

'The demon' Sam jumped out of the car and grabbed it for support. He was staring at a man, the man smirked at him and his black eyes turned yellow.

Dean got out as well and looked to where Sam was pointing.

'I don't see anything' Dean looked around and then turned to Sam.

'I…' Sam saw the man was gone. 'It was yellow-eyes, Dean! I know what I saw!'

They got back to the motel, which was only a minute or two away but Sam had not given up.

'I'm telling you, it was him' he frowned.

'Sam, you're drunk' Dean reminded him, very skeptical.

'So? I'm not blind! Ow' Sam bumped into the locked door.

'There's a door here' Dean told him with a smirk and unlocked it. 'I'm just saying Sam…you're pissed man'

'What'ver' Sam said and sat on his bed.

Dean shut the door and locked it again. He grabbed the TV remote and turned in on to a horror flick.

'Awesome' he nodded and sat on his bed, watching as Sam fell backwards onto his pillow and started snoring a bit. 'Oh Sammy' he sighed and shook his head again.

About halfway through the movie, Dean was sitting on the end of his bed, very absorbed by the film. He even jumped a little as a large, green and goopy monster appeared, throwing knives at the characters.

'Dude, that is so fake' he rolled his eyes but then a knife flew past his ear and dug into the wall. 'What the f-' Dean jumped off his bed and shoved Sam over the side of his.

'Wha! Argh!' Sam panicked and sat upright. Dean grabbed him and pulled him back down, another knife just missing his head.

'Idiot' he muttered to his brother and then quickly pulled everything off the bed and tipped in to it's side. Knives dug into it, all in an uneven row.

'Sam!' Dean shoved him awake again and a silence filled the room. He cautiously peaked up and saw another movie character; she was standing in front of the TV.

Sam then peaked over as well; more curious than concerned since he was still a bit groggy. Dean ducked back down, pulling Sam with him. He grabbed Sam's bag and searched through it. He pulled out a salt gun and peaked over the bed again. There was a woman in a white, bloody dress and she had a lot of blood dripping down her face. Her eyes were dark and her hands filthy. The dress was very long and dragged along the ground as she moved towards Dean, leaving bloodstains on the ground. Dean fired three times and the rock salt did nothing, so he grabbed a handgun…also doing nothing.

Sam frowned and then looked around for a weapon. He thought for a moment and jumped over the bed, pulling open the door and rushing outside to the Impala.

'Sam?' Dean frowned. 'Hey, that door was locked!' he ducked another flying knife and ran after his brother in panic.

Sam tossed the colt to Dean and grabbed an iron machete for himself.

The woman pulled the door off it's hinges and threw it backward into the room. She moved closer and Dean fired the colt. Both brothers felt a sickening feeling, as the colt did nothing.

'Give it!' Dean yanked the machete from Sam's hand and tried that. Sam dove through the trunk but Dean came over and tried weapon after weapon. The holy water flask finally worked and he tried the colt again.

Dean leaned against the Impala in relief as the woman vanished in a burst of light and screams.

'That'll do Pig, That'll do' Sam smirked, patting Dean's shoulder.

Dean dumped his weapons into the trunk again and turned to the motel room.

'What the…?' Dean frowned. The door was shut and there wasn't a scratch on it.

'I think I'm gonna…' Sam leaned to puke nearby, over by the road.

Dean pulled a face but then gripped the colt firmly, approaching the motel room cautiously. He yanked the door open and aimed the gun around the room.

Dean stared at the room in shock.

'Aaargh!' A high-pitched scream came from the TV as the last bits of the movie was seen. The beds were made and in their rightful positions, the carpeted floor perfectly clean. Not a single thing was out of place…

'Sam!' Dean called and went over to him. 'You're right, that bar wasn't a good idea' he shook his head.

'No kidding' Sam groaned, how starting to feel his hangover.

Sam and Dean went down into town for lunch the following day. They sat by the window at a local café diner. Dean was ordering a big breakfast, mainly to watch Sam's expression, in which he still wasn't feeling all too good and the thought of food was making him complain.

'Thanks' Dean grinned to the waitress. 'Come on, cheer up Sammy'

'Sam' he snapped.

'No, I'm Dean' his brother said innocently.

'Jerk' Sam grunted and laid his head on the table.

A woman rushed inside and shook some water off her blue jacket. She had wavy blonde hair and smiled at the boys as she went over to a table nearby. Dean watched her for a moment and then sighed. He turned back to Sam and then looked out the window. He was getting bored waiting for his food so continued to look around and noticed the table numbers.

'No 13' he frowned. 'Hm' he sighed and grinned as he saw the waitress bringing his food over.

'There you go' she smiled, placing the plates on the table and Sam sat up again, but moved away from the food. 'Anything else I can get you?'

'Soda' Sam told her and she nodded, walking over to a guy that was cleaning down tables. She spoke to him and then went to get Sam's drink.

'You look like crap' Dean told him firmly and then took a huge mouthful of his food right in front of Sam, smirking.

'I hate you' Sam groaned and made his way to the restrooms.

'Okay, we have no case' Dean summed up as they left the café. 'And we certainly are never going to that bar again'

'Mhm' Sam nodded.

'And I think…' Dean stopped as they came to two men that were arguing over how to paint the upper, front section of their store.

'I can't reach from the window!' one was yelling.

'Well even if we stood on each other's shoulders, it won't work' the other replied.

'Ah…why don't you just use a ladder?' Dean suggested like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which to him…it was.

The men looked at him in shock and almost horror.

'What are you playing at?' one growled.

'What?' Dean frowned but the men did not explain and just left.

'You're not from around here, are you?' a younger girl asked, carrying a large box with some difficulty.

'Here, let me help' Sam offered and she smiled, handing the box to him. The boys followed her into the store while she explained what had Dean confused.

'No one owns ladders around here' she said. 'It's too risky'

'Risky?' Dean repeated. 'Well then how do you reach things? Make your cats climb the wall and get it?' he joked.

'No cats either' she added. 'Well, at least not dark coloured ones…like black'

'This place is so superstitious' Dean shook his head.

'Yeah' Sam placed the box on the counter. 'Why is that?'

'It hasn't always been like this; there was a time when the town was so relaxed and everything. But then the god's pole in town showed up and people were killed when walking under ladders, black cats became death omens and cracks in sidewalks led to severe injuries…so I guess everyone became so superstitious and did everything in their power to prevent anything they could' she shrugged.

'And when did that pole show up?' Sam asked, thinking they were onto something here.

'About thirty years ago' the woman shrugged. 'Um thanks, but I gotta get back to work' she said and the boys nodded, leaving the store.

They walked around the town for a while and only then they realized the smooth sidewalks and how edgy the people really were. After that found the large and symbol covered pole in the center of town, they knew they had a case. Half of the symbols they'd seen before and some were summoning rituals.

'You know what we gotta do tonight?' Sam looked at his brother.

'Burn Baby burn' Dean smirked.

'How does this explain yellow-eyes and that scary lady?' Sam wondered as he poured petrol over as much of the pole's base that he could. It was well past midnight so they just hoped the people in town were sound sleepers. They'd never done something this open before.

'It doesn't, vodka and whiskey explains yellow-eyes and scary lady' Dean replied, convinced none of what they'd seen was real.

Sam sighed and lit up several matches at once, tossing them onto the petrol-soaked pole. It lit into flames and the brothers backed away for a moment but then the fire just…vanished.

'You know' a voice from behind them spoke. 'It's not nice to destroy things that don't belong to you'

Dean and Sam spun around and saw the same man that had been cleaning tables at the café earlier.

'Sam and Dean Winchester!' he grinned in excitement. 'Oh I have waited so long to finally meet you guys!' he came closer. 'But really, this was such a happy little town and you tried to ruin it…for that, I gotta kill ya'

'Is that so?' Dean asked, now wishing he were armed.

'Yeah, shame eh?' the man sighed. 'This is my town, I created it'

'Created it?' Sam echoed his reply. 'What are you?'

'I'm shocked in you Sam' the guy said. 'I thought you'd have it all figured out. You've dealt with my kind before…although it seems mighty difficult to actually kill one of us. We're…tricky' he smirked.

'Trickster!' Sam almost slapped himself. 'Of course!'

The trickster clapped and then clicked his fingers; the town was suddenly bathed in sunlight and packed with people.

'Oh great' Dean grumbled and went to the trunk, pulling out a stake; he was glad he had three lying around. He tossed one to Sam and they looked around for the trickster.

'This is gonna be fun' Sam frowned. 'Let's split up' he said and Dean nodded. They each took one end of town and searched for it.

A woman nearby watched them and the pulled off her blonde wig and blue jacket, tossing it into a trashcan and then disappeared down an alley.

Dean heard the sound and went in that direction but a very attractive woman stood there.

'Hey Dean' she smiled, brushing her lips with a lollypop.

'Hi' Dean grinned. 'You ah…you haven't seen a trickster by any chance have you?' he gave a shrug, trying to keep his mind on the subject at hand and not what she was wearing…or rather: not wearing.

She frowned and kicked him with her high heels, sending him through the air and into a store window.

'Dean!' Sam heard the crash and Dean lay unconscious on the shop floor, surrounded by glass. Sam turned to the alley but a huge clown jumped out.

'Argh!' he yelped and moved out of the way, but then felt stupid and went after it.

It laughed and turned around, now being the woman from the night before. She was in her white dress as before, which was all bloody and in her hands were knifes. Sam ducked out of the way. He ran into the café and dived behind a now-turned-over table.

Dean groaned and pulled himself up. He saw the woman throwing knifes into the café and assumed Sam was there.

'I really hate that bitch' he muttered and grabbed for the stake but it was gone. He crept over to the Impala, grabbing their last stake and then tried to sneak up on the woman but her head twisted right around even though he body was still throwing knives at Sam. She let out a yell and Dean winced at her bad breath.

The trickster watched from nearby, laughing hysterically, while knives that were now coming out of the woman's mouth were attacking Dean, forcing him to hide behind his Impala.

'Urgh!'

Dean looked up and saw the woman fade away, along with her knives. He glanced over and saw Sam had stabbed the trickster through the back and into his heart from behind. The café had a backdoor apparently. From the trickster's angle, it would have been hard to tell if Sam had been behind that table the entire time.

The trickster gasped and then fell face-first to the ground.

Sam moved over to Dean, pulling him to his feet as they watched the town. All the people and buildings faded away. Now they saw themselves parked in the middle of a town that looked more modern and boring, compared to the one before.

'What the?' Dean looked around confused and he ignored the yells from other drivers.

'Well it was his town' Sam breathed in relief. 'So I'm guessing it was just an optical illusion or visual reality created by the trickster. So all the people and buildings were never real to begin with. But now that he's dead, it's returned to it's original state'

'Ah' Dean nodded, a bit confused. 'Son of a bitch' he growled, seeing a few scratches on the side of his Impala.

'Let's go' Sam sighed and got into the car. 'Dean!'

'Hm?' Dean ran a hand over a deep scratch. 'I hate tricksters' he grumbled and got in. He was about to star the engine but Sam had a strange look on his face.

'What?' he asked.

'Do you feel like…we're being watched?'

'Ah yeah, there's about ten people screaming to move my car…'

'No I mean…ah never mind' Sam shrugged it off. 'It's nothing, let's go'

Dean stared the engine and drove out of town fast, he never wanted to set foot there again.

'We suck' Dean frowned.

'Huh? We killed it didn't we?' Sam asked.

'Yeah, guess' Dean turned his music on but muttered to himself. 'Trick me once shame on you, trick me twice shame on me' he sighed.

Teaser:

Sam has been having nightmares again…

'It's nothing' Sam said. 'Just a dream'

'Like hell it was' Dean frowned. 'These nightmares again? What the hell is wrong with you?'

But these are not about the future…

They're about the past…

'Lawrence' Sam shrugged.

'Lawrence?' Dean repeated, confused.

'Yeah, the fire'

Dean wants to help, but why is Sam ignoring it?

'I told you: no' Sam put the paper down. 'I haven't had anything like visions or whatever since yellow-eyes died'

'Why? Dean, it's just a fire' Sam rolled his eyes.

'And dreams are just dreams' Dean then growled

How can Sam and Dean figure out what's going on…

When something is tearing them apart?

'Now I guess it's just us. No issues with dad, no crossroad deals…just, two brothers that honestly don't have much in common and really don't need each other anymore'

Could this be…the last fight?

Or will one of them decide…to leave?

'It really was your fault' the guy whispered into Dean's ear

'Can't you see? You're a burden to Sam…he's better off without you'

'You need me Dean…but the truth is: I don't need you' Sam sighed. 'I stopped needing you when I left for school'

Coming soon…